We crossed the border to Guatemala full of beautiful Mayan skirts, blooming flowers and ancient legends. On our way to Guatemala City a motorbike passed us with the driver standing in the foot pegs and shouting something. Then he directed us to a gas station. As soon as he stopped he hollered: "What the hell are you doing in Trabant in Guatemala?!" We had to laugh. Yes, of course, the question was quite legitimate - what were we doing in Trabant in Guatemala? Why would you decide to drive such a car there? But for us, a more important question was: how did he know the car was Trabant? So we explained him the funny madness of our trip and he seemed to understand. And we found out that he was studying in Germany when the wall came down and he saw his share of Trabants there. He just could not believe that he might ever see one of these silly little things once again in his own country.
Soon we arrived to Guatemala City and it was time to say goodbye to Dennis and to welcome Darryl. We fixed a few problems on the Trabi and, the next day, we drove to the Honduras border.
I already spent a few weeks in Guatemala previously. I wanted to learn Spanish then. But I learned a way more than just the language; I learned about the civil war. One day I sat down with Manuela, a soft-spoken old woman who told me the whole brutal story of it. The next day, the only thing I wanted to do was to translate a simple quote from Milan Kundera: I always thought that nothing will be forgotten and everything will be rectified. Now I know that that everything will be forgotten and nothing will be rectified. At that moment, it seemed to be the best thing to do.
This is what Manuela told me:
First came the guerrillas. One after another, they slowly descended from the volcano. The narrow pathways were full of mud and loose rocks and the guerrillas walked with a deliberate slowness of the local farmers; with deliberate slowness of the knowledge that any slip can lead to a fall on the sharp edges of the bushes cross cut by the machetes. They reached the village in a soft evening sun. They came for food. Most of them were hiding in the mountains for months and the rainy season put them near starvation.
Ramon, the guerrilla leader, sent his men to each house and rang the church bells to call all the locals to a meeting. During the meeting, Ramon promised an early guerrilla victory. After the victory, the land would be redistributed and a new road to the main highway would be built. Most of the people cheered and applauded. Ramon then asked for food and the guerrillas went from house to house to get the food. Sometimes they were given the food, sometimes they just confiscated it.
Before they left, Ramon gave an order to execute two of the local landowners. The landowners were hacked to death by machetes and left to rot just outside of the village. The guerrilla disappeared in the mountains again.
A few days later the army arrived in their red Toyota jeeps. In a heavy rain the solders rang the church bells to call a meeting. During the meeting the army captain promised an easy victory for the government. As soon as the guerrillas are defeated the government would start yearly distribution of fertilizer to all farmers and a new road to the main highway would be built. Most of the people cheered and applauded. The captain then asked for information about guerrillas.
Before the solders left, the captain gave an order to execute a local guerrilla sympathizer and took away the local priest and the school principal. Neither has ever come back.
Soon after, the local chapter of the death squad called Escadron de la Muerte was formed. About the same time, Ramon was captured by the army and after three months of torture he provided all the necessary information. Half of the local guerrilla group was captured or killed. Ramon came back and joined the Escadron de la Muerte.
In December, just after the rainy season has ended, a group of the members of the Escadron de la Muerte came to a small neighbourhood at the edge of the village. They entered every house in this "red" area. They pulled the families out. The men and women were shot, bludgeoned with machetes, beheaded or burned in their houses. Many children were killed by smashing their heads against the walls. Two young women were taken away. One of them was found in the river three days later. She was repeatedly raped and her head was smashed by a sledgehammer. The neighbourhood was lit to fire and burned the whole night. Nobody dared to extinguish the fire.
In the weeks that followed, some of the villagers got a visit. A man came to explain that the owner of the house is on the Escadron's black list. But there was nothing to worry about; if you just pay, give up your house and your land, your name would disappear from the black list. Some did not want to give up their fields. Soon, their neighbours found them dead in front of their houses. It was necessary to show that Escadron means business.
In 1996, the government and the guerrillas signed a piece accord leading to a national reconciliation. The president and the comandante of the guerrilla forces received the Peace Price. Two of the former presidents were arrested and prosecuted for genocide. One was set free due to his old age. The other one was acquitted. Only four low ranking officers were ever convicted of any crimes in the whole country.
The civil wars raged through many countries of the Central and South America in the past. Then came the rebalancing of the superpowers and many of the wars ended up in different kinds of national reconciliations. One of the leaders called the reconciliation period "the gate of dawn." But the dawn only came to some. Others still live their nightmares. There are people in the village who walk every day around the house that was "given up" in exchange for being taken off the black list. And there are people in the village that live in the same street as a person who killed their parents and their spouses.
Before I returned from Guatemala I bought a picture. When I came home I hanged it on the wall in my bedroom. There is a Mayan woman walking away from the camera. The gentle rays of the evening sun throw strips of sunlight on the gravel road all around her. In her left hand she holds a little yellow flower. She walks with the grace of a woman used to carry baskets on her head; she walks like there was no past.
I like the picture. But, sometimes, looking at it, I feel very uncomfortable.
Soon we arrived to Guatemala City and it was time to say goodbye to Dennis and to welcome Darryl. We fixed a few problems on the Trabi and, the next day, we drove to the Honduras border.
I already spent a few weeks in Guatemala previously. I wanted to learn Spanish then. But I learned a way more than just the language; I learned about the civil war. One day I sat down with Manuela, a soft-spoken old woman who told me the whole brutal story of it. The next day, the only thing I wanted to do was to translate a simple quote from Milan Kundera: I always thought that nothing will be forgotten and everything will be rectified. Now I know that that everything will be forgotten and nothing will be rectified. At that moment, it seemed to be the best thing to do.
This is what Manuela told me:
First came the guerrillas. One after another, they slowly descended from the volcano. The narrow pathways were full of mud and loose rocks and the guerrillas walked with a deliberate slowness of the local farmers; with deliberate slowness of the knowledge that any slip can lead to a fall on the sharp edges of the bushes cross cut by the machetes. They reached the village in a soft evening sun. They came for food. Most of them were hiding in the mountains for months and the rainy season put them near starvation.
Ramon, the guerrilla leader, sent his men to each house and rang the church bells to call all the locals to a meeting. During the meeting, Ramon promised an early guerrilla victory. After the victory, the land would be redistributed and a new road to the main highway would be built. Most of the people cheered and applauded. Ramon then asked for food and the guerrillas went from house to house to get the food. Sometimes they were given the food, sometimes they just confiscated it.
Before they left, Ramon gave an order to execute two of the local landowners. The landowners were hacked to death by machetes and left to rot just outside of the village. The guerrilla disappeared in the mountains again.
A few days later the army arrived in their red Toyota jeeps. In a heavy rain the solders rang the church bells to call a meeting. During the meeting the army captain promised an easy victory for the government. As soon as the guerrillas are defeated the government would start yearly distribution of fertilizer to all farmers and a new road to the main highway would be built. Most of the people cheered and applauded. The captain then asked for information about guerrillas.
Before the solders left, the captain gave an order to execute a local guerrilla sympathizer and took away the local priest and the school principal. Neither has ever come back.
Soon after, the local chapter of the death squad called Escadron de la Muerte was formed. About the same time, Ramon was captured by the army and after three months of torture he provided all the necessary information. Half of the local guerrilla group was captured or killed. Ramon came back and joined the Escadron de la Muerte.
In December, just after the rainy season has ended, a group of the members of the Escadron de la Muerte came to a small neighbourhood at the edge of the village. They entered every house in this "red" area. They pulled the families out. The men and women were shot, bludgeoned with machetes, beheaded or burned in their houses. Many children were killed by smashing their heads against the walls. Two young women were taken away. One of them was found in the river three days later. She was repeatedly raped and her head was smashed by a sledgehammer. The neighbourhood was lit to fire and burned the whole night. Nobody dared to extinguish the fire.
In the weeks that followed, some of the villagers got a visit. A man came to explain that the owner of the house is on the Escadron's black list. But there was nothing to worry about; if you just pay, give up your house and your land, your name would disappear from the black list. Some did not want to give up their fields. Soon, their neighbours found them dead in front of their houses. It was necessary to show that Escadron means business.
In 1996, the government and the guerrillas signed a piece accord leading to a national reconciliation. The president and the comandante of the guerrilla forces received the Peace Price. Two of the former presidents were arrested and prosecuted for genocide. One was set free due to his old age. The other one was acquitted. Only four low ranking officers were ever convicted of any crimes in the whole country.
The civil wars raged through many countries of the Central and South America in the past. Then came the rebalancing of the superpowers and many of the wars ended up in different kinds of national reconciliations. One of the leaders called the reconciliation period "the gate of dawn." But the dawn only came to some. Others still live their nightmares. There are people in the village who walk every day around the house that was "given up" in exchange for being taken off the black list. And there are people in the village that live in the same street as a person who killed their parents and their spouses.
Before I returned from Guatemala I bought a picture. When I came home I hanged it on the wall in my bedroom. There is a Mayan woman walking away from the camera. The gentle rays of the evening sun throw strips of sunlight on the gravel road all around her. In her left hand she holds a little yellow flower. She walks with the grace of a woman used to carry baskets on her head; she walks like there was no past.
I like the picture. But, sometimes, looking at it, I feel very uncomfortable.
Note: I placed all the different stories into one village. They happened in different parts of Guatemala. The Ramon's story was taken from the Guatemalan documents instead of Manuela's description.